First Attraction
by DuskLikeDawn
Summary: This short story is Quinn's POV during Dead as a Doornail. The dialogue is even pulled directly from that book. I only changed the POV and the thoughts. This takes place during Colonel Flood's Funeral and the Packmaster Competition.


A/N: All dialogue comes directly from the book Dead as a Doornail. This is the first piece of fanfic I have ever uploaded, please be nice! I'm working on a couple others I hope to upload soon.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Charlaine Harris! I only added Quinn's thoughts, however since Quinn is her character, she really owns his thoughts as well!

**The Funeral**

I attended Colonel Flood's Funeral; I was there out of professional courtesy. I had no friends in the pack of Weres in Shreveport. I'd decided to make an appearance, just because I knew I would be needed for the New Pack Master Ceremony that would be coming up. It would make the company I was partnered in, E(E)E, look good.

I liked being alone, not having to worry about a pack. There was only my crazy mother, my little sister and me. We didn't have pack politics to worry about; my mother and I were some of the last of our kind. But tigers are solitary creatures anyway.

As I walked through the crowd, they parted for me. No one came up to _me_ to talk. I almost smiled. Most shifters feared me, and for good reason. But I heard a voice, a beautiful voice, with a perfect southern accent ask, "Who is that?" If not for the wind blowing toward me at that particular moment, I wouldn't have heard her, even with my tiger hearing. I strained to listen, to see of someone answered. I don't think they did.

I turned to find the voice in the crowd and I was astounded. She was average height for a woman, about five six, if I could judge by the older lady standing beside her, Christine, I think her name was. She had blond hair, blue eyes, amazing breasts, long legs, all I could think was _beautiful. _As I made my way toward the church, I couldn't stop thinking about her. She seemed human, but there was something_ other_ about her, too. Since she was hanging around a bunch of Were's though, she was probably someone's girlfriend.

I turned to get another look at her, while I was walking up the steps. She'd moved off to the side a little. And she was whispering so low even I couldn't hear it. She was giving off angry vibes that were unbelievable for someone not a shifter. And she was being gripped by Alcide Herveaux, the son of one of the pack master contenders. As he started to get angry, too, I stopped walking, wondering if she needed my intervention. After a second, she looked up at me and caught my eye, I was astounded by the lack of fear in her face. It made me smile. Alcide tugged on her, obviously seeing she was looking at me. I smiled harder.

I moved a little away, keeping watch without being in their squabble. At one point he bent his head and stared at the ground. I was shocked when she grabbed his face, forcefully and made him look at her. She looked around at me again, I stared back, not quite knowing what to make of her. She visibly reined in her temper and I walked in the door, I didn't want her to think I was creepy just staring at her, after all.

I sat down in the back row; I felt her eyes on me as she passed. Then I had an almost unobstructed view of the back of her. _Wow, just as good as the front._

The pack master contenders got up to eulogize Colonel Flood, which, as expected, really just became platforms for their political campaigns. I let my mind wander back to the girl. I really needed to find out her name. I could see her from where I sat. She was shifting uncomfortably, and I wondered if her clothes were something she didn't often wear. I could picture her looking at home in lots of different clothes, but I really thought she seemed more a t-shirt and jeans kind of girl.

When it was over, I saw her walking back out with Alcide, she looked in a better mood now than she did before. I debated on whether I should go to the grave site. I decided I might as well. I didn't want to be around all these Weres, really, but maybe I could stand in the background somewhere and get more insight on that wonderful woman.

She stood clutching Alcide's arm at the cemetery. I saw her looking around a few times, but I was at the tree line, I doubt a human could see me at that distance. I wondered if she were looking for me. I discarded the idea immediately, if she knew about shifters, she would have heard about me. Nice girls didn't want guys like me.

A little dejected, I got in my truck and drove off. _It's too bad really_, I thought, _she seemed like a real good woman, but now I'd never even know her name._

* * *

**The Pack Master Contest**

I really hate these events. Most events I host are happy. They're mostly weddings, which really made me a little lonely, or my company hosts large parties for all different reasons, normally happy ones.

I was standing far back in the shadows, trying to be unobtrusive - for a man my size, that's sometimes hard to do - when _she _walked through the door. She was by herself, and for a moment my heart leapt in my chest, then I realized Alcide was his father's 'second' and wasn't in the room currently. She was dressed like a teenager, a little jean mini skirt with bright red tights. She certainly knew how to stand out.

She glanced around the room and shrugged, like whoever she was looking for wasn't there, and like she didn't _care_ that they weren't there. I hoped, then, that it was Alcide she was looking for.

Then she made a beeline for the fairy twins Claude and Claudine. _Hmm, interesting, is she a fairy?_ No, that didn't seem quite right either. The twins kissed her at the same time one on each cheek. She was whispering, but I could hear her, most of the room could hear her I was sure.

"What's going to happen?" She was looking at the array of equipment around the room like it was some medieval torture room. Someone had asked her to come here, not even telling her what was going on? I felt my anger rise. What kind of person does that? I heard Claudine ask if she was a screamer, and her face paled.

When the door opened and Herveaux senior and Furnan walked out naked, she looked first shocked, then disgusted. After a moment she seemed to just accept it. What an interesting woman. A real go-with-the-flow type. Her eyes didn't linger too much on Alcide when he walked out behind them either.

Christine began to speak, and I wondered why the woman wasn't with her, they'd seemed friends at the funeral. When Christine began to explain what was going to happen the fairies grasped the girls hands, she whispered, so innocently, "This is gonna be bad." The fairies nodded their agreement. There was just something about her; I wanted to wrap my arms around her.

After the two Weres shifted into their wolf form, it was time for my part in the ceremonies, I stepped out, being careful not to look directly at the woman, but looking out of the corner of my eye. In the silence of the room I heard:

"Whoa," from Claude

"Hooboy," from Claudine

"Wowzers," from _Her._ It was hard to keep from smiling. _She likes the way I look!_

She seemed very interested in the first test, an obstacle course. In fact she began shivering when Furnan was crossing the land mine pit (it was just Astroturf and clamps that came up when set off - it would definitely hurt but if she thought that was bad, how was she going to handle the rest?).

"Quinn," I heard her whisper. I knew she wasn't talking to me, so I didn't look up. Hmmm, how did she know my name? I never heard anyone else say it. And if she would have known it before she probably wouldn't have said it now, like it was a revelation.

Herveaux and Furnan both made it through. In my opinion, neither of them should be pack master, neither had the right skills for it. _She_ was naturally rooting for Herveaux. _Strange,_ I thought, _Alcide hasn't even looked at her yet._

I took the chance to look up at her, my eyes sweeping the crowd. I lingered on her just a second; the fairies were pushed in on both sides, like human (or fairy) shields. I saw Christine calling the woman over, she went hurriedly, the twins on her heals.

The second test was endurance, seeing how well the wolves could hold a bar of silver in their mouths. Silver will burn shifters of any sort, even me, with too much exposure, it could kill them. She seemed to focus hard on this part of contest. Herveaux started whining within seconds, Furnan seemed to hold on to himself a lot better. The winner in this task was starting to look obvious.

"He's cheating," I was concentrating so hard on Herveaux and Furnan I didn't even know she was about to speak.

"No member of the pack may speak." I tried to talk evenly so she wouldn't have any idea how much I enjoyed talking directly to her. I had a job to do here, I couldn't make an exception even for her.

"I'm not a pack member." She said.

"You challenge the contest?" I asked, staring hard at her. How did she know someone was cheating?

"You bet you're ass I do. Smell the gloves Patrick's second was wearing" He immediately looked guilty and I knew she was right.

"Drop the bars," I commanded. I went to get the gloves, but Furnan's wife tried to grab them, I snarled, she whined and backed up. I could smell the drug now. I looked down at Furnan. _Scum_, I thought. It wasn't my place to say it though.

"The woman is right," I told the convened crowd. "There is a drug on the gloves. It made Furnan's skin numb when the silver was placed in his mouth, so he could last longer. I declare him loser of this part of the contest. The pack will have to decide whether he should forfeit any right to continue, and whether his second should still be a pack member."

All the non-pack members went to the reception area to give the pack privacy to vote on the issue. I found myself with three other shape-shifters, the fairies and _her._ I couldn't believe my luck.

"Come here," I told her. She stiffened her whole body up, stuck out her chin and glared the whole way over. "You don't have to stick your jaw out like that. I'm not going to hit you."

"I never thought you were," she snapped. She met my eyes and smiled, a big happy smile. I couldn't help but smile back. _Wow, she really does like the way I look._

"How often do you have to shave?" she asked, shocking me into laughter.

"Are you scared of anything?" I asked.

"So many things," there was something almost wistful in her voice.

"Do you have an extrasensitive sense of smell?"

"Nope."

"Do you know the blond one?"

"Never saw him before."

"Then how did you know?"

"Sookie is a telepath," Claude said. I glared, how _dare _he interrupt this conversation that I've been dying to have. "My sister is her, ah, guardian," he practically muttered. _Her name is Sookie. She definitely deserves a better fairy godmother, though. _I turned my head to look at Claudine "Then you're doing a terrible job." I told her.

"Don't you get onto Claudine, Claudine's saved my life a bunch!"

"Fairies," I griped, she was at least part fairy! Only fairies got fairy guardians. "The Weres aren't going to be happy about your piece of information. At least half of them are going to wish you were dead. If your safety is Claudine's top priority, she should have held your mouth shut." I couldn't believe I said that to her. I just made it obvious that I thought her safety important.

"Hey!" she said, "Cut it out. I know you've got friends in there you're worried about, but don't take that out on Claudine.' I stared straight into her eyes, willing her to understand, "Or me." She finished.

"I have no friends in there." _I'm trying to make one out here, though, _"And I shave every morning," I said, getting back to what she asked before. I wanted to prolong this conversation as long as I could.

"Okay, then." She nodded.

"Or if I'm going out in the evening." I wondered where she liked to go on dates.

"Gotcha."

"To do something special," like taking her out and getting back to her place, to see if her body was as amazing without the clothes as it was in them.

Damn it, a Were came out to tell us to come back in. Just a few more minutes and I might have worked up the guts to ask her out. When Christine told me the verdict, I knew it was going to be bad for Herveaux, a fight to the death. Furnan would win that one.

I couldn't help but wonder if Sookie was close to him. I'd bet seeing someone die would be hard for her no matter what. She just seemed like that kind of person. She was obviously tough. Look at the crowd she hung out with. Fairies and shifters, she had no protection against them, and she didn't even flinch when one was unhappy with her.

Before the fight started, I watched her some more, she was just wandering around. Was she looking inside everyone's head? That gave me an idea. I waved her over to me. She looked reluctant to come closer to me. Had I freaked her out?

"Go read their minds again." She started backing away from me. I reached out and grabbed her shoulder, until she was looking straight at me, well at my nipple, which was fine with me. "Listen, blondie, all you have to do is go in there and do your thing," I assured her. She looked at Claudine, who was frantically shaking her head.

"Why do I need to? What purpose will it serve?" she looked terrified at the thought. Maybe it would give her a reason to let me comfort her. But mainly it would make the other shifters think she was doing the telepathy thing because I asked her to, and maybe it would keep the Weres from killing her.

"Is he gonna cheat again?" I bent to talk to her, speaking too low for anyone else to hear. "Does Furnan have some means of cheating that I can't see?" Maybe by making her think I was only worried about who she wanted to win, she would come around.

"Do you guarantee my safety?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, without hesitation, thinking _at least she trusts that I won't let her get hurt._

I opened the cage door and she walked in slowly, I stood right behind her. She touched Furnan for a minute, then Herveaux, she shook her head. I turned to open the door back, and Furnan lunged, I heard a scream from the crowd and grabbed her and spun out the door, slamming it before Furnan could get to her, instead he slammed into the door. _Bastard! Coward! _I raged silently. I held her tightly against me, thanking God I got her out in time. But, then I looked down and her leg was bleeding. _Oh God, _I thought, _please tell me he didn't bite her._

"Did he get you?" Why did I make her go in there? She didn't want to. I cussed myself while she took a moment, clutching me, to think.

"I'm bleeding," she told me, "It's not bad." I wasn't watching the fight; my only concern was for this beautiful girl, I had put in danger. I heard one of the wolves score a major hit, and Sookie flinched, cowered into me.

I carried her to the wall, sat her down, and helped her pull off those tights, so I could check her leg. She was shivering again, scared, I could smell it. She gave off the most amazing scents. The dwarf doctor, Dr. Ludwig, came over said she was fine. The saliva of a shifter can speed up the healing process, so I started licking the blood from her leg.

Her taste was amazing, I felt myself getting hard, just licking her leg. I wondered how she tasted elsewhere. Then, her scent changed subtly, the smell of arousal came off of her. I realized I was breathing hard, and so was she. I put my head on her thigh, and rubbed her leg. I wished so badly, we were somewhere else. Which reminded me, this was not the place.

"Not our time and place, babe." I grinned at her. "God, that was... great." She made me feel like a teenager again. I hadn't called anyone _babe_ since I was a kid. I stretched a little, liking how much she liked the view.

"Do you know who I am?" I asked. I might as well make sure she knows about me.

"Quinn?" she made it a question, the innocence in that made me smile again. Her blush made me assume she knew what I was, but wasn't scared of me either. Amazing.

"I've heard your name is Sookie," I said, getting to my knees. Finally a conversation just between us.

"Sookie Stackhouse," she told me. What an interesting name. She was looking down; I used my hand to lift her face to meet my eyes. Knowing she was telepathic, I thought about how interested in her I was, how pretty I thought she was; she seemed to take no notice. Hmmm.

"I wonder what you're seeing," I murmured and let her chin go, regretfully. She looked down at her leg, saw it was clearly a scrape from the door.

"Not a bite," she sounded like she would cry in relief.

"Nope. No she-wolf in your future," I was happy to be able to tease her a little.

"Tell me something. Why the hell can't they just vote?" she asked me. I had to work to keep from laughing. I couldn't believe she didn't know more about the people she was running with.

"Not the way of the shifter, babe. You're going to see me later," I told her, and I couldn't wait for that to happen. I walked back to the cage, realizing I had a job to do. I wasn't there to meet girls, even amazing ones like Sookie Stackhouse.

Sookie was immediately put back between the fairy twins, Claudine was crying. I'd heard rumors about her; I couldn't believe she was that sensitive. Furnan was definitely winning, Herveaux covered in blood. Alcide kept looking at the door like he was going to go to his father's aid. I gave him a steady look to make sure he understood that wasn't happening.

Suddenly Furnan had Herveaux held down by the throat. Herveaux stopped fighting. I declared Furnan the winner, and he clamped down killing the unmoving werewolf. It was the sensible thing to do. Jackson Herveaux was too dominant to bow to Patrick Furnan on a daily basis. I glanced at Sookie; she looked like she was in shock.

I gathered my crew and started cleaning up. I didn't really care to be around for the final 'task'. After everything was cleaned, including the blood from the floor, I once again retreated to deep shadow. I didn't care to see this. It was another reason I was happy to be without a pack. I would never have to 'do my duty' with my wife standing behind me watching me impregnate some willing woman.

I noticed Alcide being comforted by another wolf. After a few minutes Sookie walked slowly up to him. He glared at her, I couldn't believe it. She looked stricken. He glared at her like it was all her fault. Why would she have stuck her nose in? If she hadn't Jackson Herveaux might be alive. However, it seemed pretty clear that Christine had asked her to look into their minds.

I was used to the fighting, the blood. It excited me, but not the way it excited the Weres. I was used to it. I'd killed many humans, vampires and even more shifters. Violence almost didn't have an effect on me anymore. Everyone gathered around for Furnan to try and impregnate a teenage girl. I didn't watch. I watched Sookie, Claude stood behind her, his hand over her mouth, heatedly whispering in her ear. Claudine stood in front of her until the actual act began to take place, and then turned to face Sookie, putting both hands over her ears. The trio stood that way, tears pouring down Sookie and Claudine's faces. I wished I knew her well enough to comfort her. She shouldn't have even been there. It wasn't right. She was so innocent.

As soon as it was over, the wolves presented Furnan their necks. There was a tense moment when it was Alcide's turn, I thought Sookie would scream, but Claudine managed to shut her up that time. Alcide's turn was over without incident and the next Were came through.

Sookie practically ran out the door as soon as she was able. Now I knew her _name._ I knew she was _probably_ interested in me. I took my time walking out the door, half hoping to catch her, half hoping not to. I had a lot going on for the next couple weeks. But I was definitely going to find out all I could about Ms. Sookie Stackhouse.


End file.
